Thursday, March 24, 2016

A Searching Heart by Janette Oke 5 of 5 stars.
Book 2 of Prairie Legacy

The Yearning Deep Inside Her—to Go Somewhere, Discover Something, Be a Part of the World About Her in a New Way—Would Not Go Away. But What Would Satisfy It?

In The Tender Years, Virginia Simpson managed to struggle through adolescence and was looking forward to stepping into adulthood. When her graduation day arrives, she walks to the podium as the class valedictorian to the proud grins of her grandparents, Marty and Clark Davis. College beckoned, and life seemed to be well in hand.

She thought she would feel different. Like an adult, with an inner knowledge that she was on the edge of the nest, ready to try her own wings. And then circumstances began swirling around her, making her rethink her plans and reevaluate her priorities. (Book blurb)

Virginia Simpson is ready to graduate high school and join her boyfriend in the exciting world of college. The mature, capable young woman having just graduated as valedictorian, is ready to take her place in the world of adulthood. However, that very maturity keeps her at home—first one semester then another.

While Virginia works to help her family during their time of need, she must also help her wayward friend Jenny when her carefree, life’s-a-party ways get her in trouble. Not only that, she must try to keep her boyfriend Jamison tethered when she fears he is straying from his faith and losing his way.

Before Virginia is able to become her own woman, she must learn what is within her control and what is only within God’s.

A Searching Heart is a gentle, thoughtful novel that perfectly captures the feelings of a young woman stuck between the situation of childhood and the wide-open world of adulthood—when she’s already crossed the threshold of womanhood in both mind and body. As usual, Janette Oke masterfully portrays the feminine heart in all of it’s depth and nuance. I was sucked in by Virginia’s story because I understood it. I recognized her longing for action and independence while being tied down to self-imposed responsibilities. I laughed and cried for her throughout her journey, and I rejoiced when the novel ended on an incredibly hopeful, sweet note.

I would suggest this novel especially for any woman between the ages of 17-25, though I believe it would touch the hearts of both younger and older women as well. Janette Oke astounds me with how well she manages to capture what it means to be a woman (especially a Christian woman) in so many different chapters of life and situations. She certainly did not disappoint in A Searching Heart.

"In each of us lie good and bad, light and dark, art and pain, choice and regret, cruelty and sacrifice. We’re each of us our own chiaroscuro, our own bit of illusion fighting to emerge into something solid, something real. We’ve got to forgive ourselves that. I must remember to forgive myself. Because there is a lot of grey to work with. No one can live in the light all the time."— Libba Bray